Special Report
Goal Play: Betting on the Beautiful Game
The heat is on! As 9 June inches closer, the decibel levels around the Fifa World Cup are definitely on the rise.
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In India, it is thanks largely to the kind of drumming ESPN Star Sports, adidas and Coca Cola are doing. There‘s no denying, however, that fascination for football in India is still only for the international game and hence the moolah that is being spent here is like a drop in the $1+ billion global marketing ocean of Fifa.  |
| Brands that have associated with the World Cup as official partners are Coca Cola, Philips, Toshiba, Gillette, Emirates, Hyundai, Mastercard, Avaya, Budweiser, Yahoo!, Fujifilm, adidas, McDonalds and Continental Inns. In India, the most activity has been seen by Coca Cola, adidas and of course ESPN Star Sports, which is the official broadcaster. It‘s no rocket science that brands will get their ground activation rolling in soccer crazy states like West Bengal, Goa and Kerala as the World Cup nears.
The numbers that Indiantelevision.com tried to get around the spends brands have allotted for the globe‘s most widely watched and highest revenue generating sporting event are varied but on one issue there is no argument. That when it comes to comparisons with India‘s national obsession cricket, it is a no contest. “If you look at football as a TV game, it‘s not so friendly for advertising with its limited break time. So as far as advertising opportunities are concerned there‘s limited supply, let‘s say 25-30 spots to be sold in a match. In that kind of scenario, the sponsors or brands who are interested in the game are looking for association-value with such a big international game, and the hype around it, rather than actual exposure and GRPs,” says Madison Media Infinity COO Ajit Varghese. |
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According to industry sources, four to five brands (not necessarily all Fifa partners) are pumping in Rs 100 million only on ground level activation around the World Cup. “Some brands are also planning corporate soccer tournaments in select cities to build on the excitement,” one of them aver. Varghese feels that brands that are interested in being associated with a big international game like Fifa will set aside anywhere between 5 – 15 per cent of their budgets for the month-long event. Says Mahesh Ranka, general manager of Starcom‘s sports marketing division Relay Worldwide, “adidas has rolled out its +10 campaign. I would assume that they are not spending more than Rs 10 – 15 million on the ground activation in India.” Lodestar national media director Nandini Dias remains conservative on the kind of spends that brands will be shelling out for the World Cup. “I think at best the spends will compare to a single One Day International (ODI),” she says. While globally, the Fifa World Cup is more than a Rs 450 billion ($1 billion) marketing phenomenon, the India estimates range between Rs 225 – 450 million. According to Group M business director sports Sandeep Goel, total spends that Fifa can generate in India across different media would be in the region of $ 10 million (Rs 450 million). The money would come from TV, merchandise, ground activation, promotions etc. “Out if this, 80 per cent of the revenue will come from below the line and non traditional,” says Goel. Dias, on the other hand says she would be surprised if TV + press + radio gets more than Rs 400 million. Avers Varghese, “It looks like the projections this time are much higher than any of the previous World Cups, thanks to the interest and viewership it generated last time. Even TV penetration has substantially gone up since the last World Cup. My guesstimate would be somewhere between $5-7 million (Rs 225 – 315 million) from advertising,” he says. The general consensus is that most brands will associate with the World Cup to ride on the viewership that it will garner. While four years back, Ten Sports, which had just launched at that time, managed good ratings for Fifa; this time round the expectations are much higher. “Only ground sponsors will be able to leverage this event to the maximum viable limit. Others are using this as a major event to ride on the viewership. Fifa is always a big event for any marketing company targeting sports loving audiences,” says Goel. Initiative president and Lintas Media Group associate director Kartik Iyer says, “Depending upon the global position of various brands, investment requirements in certain regions and seasonality; a few brands have taken on positions on football. For instance, Coke India has been reported to have committed Rs 60 million to the World Cup campaign in India (inclusive of the event sponsorships). Apart from this Airtel and adidas are planning big too. Hyundai Motors is the official automobile sponsor and has branding space on the referees and officials. They have provided about 1,250 Hyundai cars for the world‘s biggest football gala.” However, as Varghese says, “The fact remains that the organised game, support, competition, star worship and last but not the least, money is just not there in India. Also football in India is seen as a game which attracts larger sections of lower SECs and lower town class profiles.” |
MUMBAI: Some friendships are made in heaven; others are coded in Mumbai. Hamara Vinayak, the first-ever digital original from Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Swastik Stories, turns the divine into the delightful, serving up a story that’s equal parts start-up hustle and spiritual hustle.
Some tech start-ups chase unicorns. This one already has a god on board. Hamara Vinayak takes the leap from temple bells to notification pings and it does so with heart, humour and a healthy dose of the divine.
At its core, the show asks a simple but audacious question: what if God wasn’t up there, but right beside you, maybe even debugging your life over a cup of chai?
The show’s tagline, “God isn’t distant… He’s your closest friend” perfectly captures its quirky soul. Across its first two episodes, screened exclusively for media in Mumbai, the series proves that enlightenment can come with a good punchline.
The series follows a group of ambitious young entrepreneurs running a Mumbai-based tech start-up that lets people around the world book exclusive virtual poojas at India’s most revered shrines. But as their app grows, so do their ethical grey zones. Into this chaos walks Vinayak, played with soulful serenity and sly wit by the charming Namit Das, a young man whose calm smile hides something celestial.
He’s got the peaceful look of a saint but the wit of someone who could out-think your favourite stand-up comic. Around him spins a crew of dream-driven youngsters – Luv Vispute, Arnav Bhasin, Vaidehi Nair and Saloni Daini who run a Mumbai-based tech start-up offering devotees across the world the chance to book “exclusive” poojas at India’s most sacred shrines. It’s a business plan that blends belief and broadband – and, as the story unfolds, also tests the moral compass of its ambitious founders.
“The first time I read the script, I found the character very pretty,” Namit joked at the post-screening interaction. “It’s a beautiful thought that God isn’t distant, he’s your closest friend. And playing Vinayak, you feel that calm but also his cleverness. He’s the friend who makes you think.”
The reactions to the series ranged from smiles to sighs of wonder. Viewers were charmed by the show’s sincerity and sparkle, a quality that stems from its creator’s belief that faith can be funny without being frivolous.
Among the cast, Luv Vispute shines brightest, his comic timing adding sparkle to the show’s more reflective beats. But what keeps Hamara Vinayak engaging is the easy rhythm of its writing – one moment touching, the next teasing, always gently reminding us that spirituality doesn’t have to be solemn.
Luv spoke fondly of his long association with Swastik. “Since my first show was with Swastik, this feels like home,” he said. “Every project with them is positive, feel-good, and this one just had such a different vibe. I truly feel blessed.”
Saloni Daini, who brings infectious warmth to her role, added that she signed up the moment she heard the show was about “Bappa.”
“We shot during the Ganpati festival,” she recalled. “The energy on set was incredible festive, faithful, and full of laughter. It’s such a relatable story for our generation: chaos, friendship, love, kindness, and faith all mixed together.”
Vaidehi Nair and Arnav Bhasin complete the ensemble, each representing different shades of ambition and morality in the start-up’s journey. Their camaraderie is easy and believable, a testament to how much the cast connected off-screen as well.
This clever fusion of mythology and modernity plays to India’s two enduring loves, entertainment and faith. Mythology has long been the comfort zone of Indian storytellers, from the televised epics of the 1980s to the glossy remakes that still command prime-time TRPs. For decades, gods have been our most bankable heroes. But Hamara Vinayak tweaks the formula not by preaching, but by laughing with its characters, and sometimes, at their confusion about where divinity ends and data begins.
Creator Siddharth Kumar Tewary, long hailed as Indian television’s myth-maker for shows like Mahabharat, Radha Krishn and Porus, explained the show’s intent with characteristic clarity, “This is our first story where we are talking directly to the audience, not through a platform,” he said. “We wanted to connect young people with our culture to say that God isn’t someone you only worship; He’s your friend, walking beside you, even when you take the wrong path. The story may be simple, but the thought is big.”
That blend of philosophy and playfulness runs through the show. “We had to keep asking ourselves why we’re doing this,” Tewary added. “It’s tricky to make something positive and spiritual for the OTT audience, they’ve changed, they want nuance, not sermons. But when the purpose is clear, everything else aligns.”
For the creator of some of Indian TV’s most lavish spectacles, Hamara Vinayak marks a refreshing tonal shift. Here, Tewary trades celestial kingdoms for co-working spaces and cosmic battles for office banter. Yet his signature remains: an eye for allegory, a love for faith-infused storytelling, and an understanding that belief is most powerful when it feels personal.
Hamara Vinayak, after all, feels less like a sermon and more like a conversation over chai about what success means, what faith costs, and why even the gods might be rooting for a start-up’s Series A round.
As Namit Das reflected during the Q&A, “Life gives us many magical, divine moments we just forget to notice them. Sometimes even through a phone screen, you see something that redirects you. That’s a Vinayak moment.”
The series also mirrors a larger cultural pivot. As audiences migrate from television to OTT, myth-inspired tales are finding new form and flexibility online. The digital screen lets creators like Tewary reinvent the genre, giving ancient ideas a modern interface, without losing the emotional charge that’s made mythology India’s storytelling backbone for decades.
In a country where faith trends faster than any hashtag, Hamara Vinayak feels both familiar and refreshingly new, a comedy that’s blessed with heart, humour and just enough philosophy to keep the binge holy.
For a country where mythology remains the oldest streaming service, Tewary’s move from TV to OTT feels both natural and necessary. Indian storytellers have always turned to gods for drama, guidance and TRPs from Ramayan and Mahabharat on Doordarshan to glossy mytho-dramas on prime time. But digital platforms allow creators to remix reverence with realism, and in Hamara Vinayak, faith gets an interface upgrade.
The result is a show that feels like a warm chat with destiny, part comedy, part contemplation. And in an age of cynicism, that’s no small miracle.
As Tewary put it, smiling at his cast, “The message had to be positive. We just wanted to remind people that even in chaos, God hasn’t unfriended you.”
With 5 episodes planned, Hamara Vinayak promises to keep walking that fine line between laughter and light. It’s mythology with memes, devotion with dialogue, and a digital-age reminder that even the cloud has a silver lining or perhaps, a divine one.
If the first two episodes are any sign, the show doesn’t just bridge heaven and earth, it gives both a Wi-Fi connection.
